Incubator



Oct. 17, 1944. J. l. TAGGART INCUBATOR Filed April 20, 1942 I5Sheets-Sheet l T m R Q -MR s w w \w Mm Nw 1h .1. X N+ iw/ rl? 7 E 5 V hT 7 \\U\ A l w ATTORNEYS BY f Oct. 17, 1944. J. l. TAGGART INCUBATORFiled April 20, 1942 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR JOSEPH I. hq/mr ATTORNEYSOct. 17, 1944. r.1. L TAGGART INCUBATOR I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April20, lSfL-Q INVENTOR Jos/SPH I TAGGART ATTORNEYS Patented Get. 17, 1944INCUBATOR Joseph I. Taggart, Cleveland, hio,

The Bundy Incubator Company, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio assignor toSpringfield.

Application April 20, 194.2, SerialNo. 439,795

12 Claims.

The present invention relates to incubators and particularly to largeincubators of the forced draft type in which many tiers of egg trays arehoused in a single cabinet or chamber. This general form of incubator isold and well known in the art and the present invention is specificallydirected to new and improved means of providing thorough and adequatecirculation of airthrough the incubator andthe maintenance of the propertemperature and humidity in the body of air which is kept in circulationthrough the egg chamber.

The maintenance of proper and exact humidity during incubation is one ofthe objects of the invention, and the incubator is designed particularlyand especially to secure this result. It is also an object of theinvention to provide means which will insure a constant correcttemperature. The apparatus is designed particularly to prevent rise intemperature beyond the closely controlled limits which are deemed to bethe optimum requirements for successful incubation. The apparatus,therefore, comprises in combination with a large chamber to hold theeggs, a .control unit by which the exact degrees of humidity andtemperature are maintained. For this purpose, in the preferred form ofthe invention there is a single cabinet or air conditioning unit whichis 4 designed to distribute air at the requisite temperature andhumidity so that uniform conditions are found in all parts of the eggchamber. The machine is particularly designed so that it may besuccessfullyY operated during all ranges of outside temperature. Thismakes it ypossible to carry on commercially profitable operations invery Warm climates and during the entire year. Year-round hatching has,in recent years, been found to be protable and the incubator disclosedand claimed here is peculiarly adapted for this type of operation.

The principles and mode of operation are illustrated and described inconnection with an incubating chamber or unit, that is to say, one inwhich hen eggs are incubated for a period of eighteen days orthereabouts, at Ywhich time they are to be removed to a separatehatching chamber where the humidity is raised in accordance with theprocess of the Stover Patent No, 1,911,- 250. For this reason theinvention is shown and described in conjunction with means forsupporting and tilting incubating trays only, no

' hatching trays being shown, but principles of the invention may beincorporated in a unitary incubator and hatcher if the differentialhumidities of the Stover process are not to be employed.

Therefore, when the terms incubator or incubating chamber are employed,it will be understood that the expression is intended to cover eithertype so far as may be practicable. The

incubator is shown as the large or corridor type in which the operatorgoes inside the cabinet for setting or turning the eggs or for othernecessary operations. This is not essential, however.

It will be understood that strict following of the detailed constructionis not essential and may be altered or modified within the scope of theinvention as set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings, which illustrate the best known or preferred form ofthe invention:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal section througha large incubator of thecorridor type, showing the arrangement and location of the air.conditioning unit and the air circulating fans along one side wall.Only a part of the complement of tilting egg trays is shown.

Fig. 2 isa transverse section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is another transverse section on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1, takenimmediately in front of the air conditioning unit on the back wall ofthe chamber. l i i Figs. 4 and 5 are enlarged sections on the lines 4--4and 5--5 of Fig. l, showing a fan and the means for feeding to lthe fanthe increment of humidified and treated air which maintains the correctconditions within the chamber.

In the form of incubator shown herein, the side walls of the egg chamberor housing are inf dicated at l. the main or true ceiling at 2, the rearwall at 3 and the front wall at ll in which there is a door 5 throughwhichy access is had to the central corridor 6. These elements are oi"any usual or standard construction t0 give the necessary insulation fromoutside temperatures. Across the entire top of the chamber is locatedthe false ceiling 8 which is spaced from the true ceiling to provide alarge area or secondary chamber 9 which houses the body of properlyheated and humidied air that is distributed to the various fans and thusadded to the main body of air circulating in the incubating chamber. Byadding increments'of pretreated and conditioned air, the humidity andtemperature in the main chamber 'are accurately controlled.

The rear wall is provided with an enlarged opening I0 atthe end of thecorridor and in` this opening is positioned the air conditioning unitindicated generally by the numeral l2. The front of this unit opens intothe corridor where there is provided a removable panel I4 which permitsaccess to the interior of the unit for cleaning or repair ofinstrumentalities within the air conditioning unit or box. Fig. 3 showsthe device with the panel removed. Through the center of this unit I2 is"a dividing wall I5 which extends up to the false ceiling, as shown inFig. 1. There are thus provided a down passage I6 which leads from thelarge opening above the top of the panel I4 to the bottom of the unitand an up passage I'I which delivers the air which has passed throughthe unit to the space 9 between the true and false ceilings.

Air entering the passage I6 from the main body within the chamber passesdownward over a coil which is lled with water from a main supply line 2|at the lower end of the coil. This arrangement provides a normal supplyof water for the humidifying system which is warmed by the air from theegg chamber. The water is circulated in a greater volume so that thecoil becomes a cooling means for the incubator in the event thetemperature in the incubator rises beyond the limits imposed by theautomatic controls to be described. In the passage are located one ormore water sprays, two being indicated at 22, which are fed from thebranch line 23 supplied from the coil. The main water pipe 24 is ledover the top of the conditioning unit and turns downwardly to dischargeinto the unit, a manually operated valve 25 being provided near thedischarge point so as to regulate the stream which will ow through thecoi? when the coil is used for cooling purposes. In the line 24 is thecontrol valve 26 which is opened when the temperature rises above thedesired level by a thermostat in the egg chamber. In the` line 23 is asimilar valve 27 to control the spray, which valve is controlled by ahumidostat located in the egg chamber. As the spray requires only alimited amount cient yreservoir of preheated water will normally beretained in the coil.

At each side of the conditioning'unit are valvecontrolled openings 28,through which regulated amounts of fresh air are admitted to the airstream to freshen the air in the chamber. Sufficient foul air ispermitted to pass out of the chamber through passages located at thefour corners of the chamber. 'I'hese passages are flues leading to theoutside, but one of the passages, indicated at 30a, is provided with asmall bladed exhaust fan 32 of the common desk type. It will be found,depending on the direction of rotation `of the main fans, that thepressure in two diagonally opposite corners of the chamber will begreater than in the other corners. The fan 32 is preferably placed inone of the high pressure corners and is designed to be operated when thetemperature in the egg chamber rises abnormally, whereupon the fan 32starts rotation, drawing air out of the chamber. At. the same time itwill be found that the direction of the airiwill reverse in the'lowpressure outlets `'and they willv then become air inlets which, in

conjunction with the airA entering through the inlets-.28, serve tomaintain the equilibrium between the pressure within and outside of thechamber. 4

In the main distributing chamber 9 and at the discharge point of theupward passage I1 are heating coils 33 located between insulating pads34. By locating the heater at a point in the travel of therair beyondthe sprays, better reof water, a sufsuits are achieved than by locatingthe heater rin the spray. As the heaters are removed from any metal partof the incubator, there are no elements to store residual heat and thewhole system responds quickly to the cooling agents when the heat isshut off. As the air passes downward through the passage I6, it ishumidied by the water sprays, the excess water being discharged throughthe drain 35. If the temperature in the chamber has risen above thedesired point, the valve 26 is opened so that the water circulates ingreater volume through the coil 20 and the temperature of the air isreduced to the desired point. The humidied (and at times cooled) air nowturns upwardly through the passage I1, the upward movement of the airpermitting any entrained droplets of water to fall to the bottom of theunit. The air now passes into the large chamber 9 which extends over thewhole of the egg chamber, passing over the heating coils which willbring the air freed of any droplets of water up to the requisitetemperature.

The operation of the cooling coil 2D, fan 32 and the heater 33 iscontrolled by a group o! three thermostats 36 of any standard electricalcontrol type. One of these thermostats controls the heating elements 33,and another controls the valve 26 for the cooling coil and the exhaustfan 32. 'I'he third thermostat is used in the customary manner for thepurpose of an alarm and for safety. From the thermostats, lines lead toa relay box 40 of standard construction, the details of which need notbe described. From this box a line 40i leads to the heaters 33 and asecond line 'IIIb leads to the valve 26 and the exhaust fan 32. If thetemperature in the egg chamber drops slightly, the appropriatethermostat automatically turns on the heaters 33 until the correcttemperature is restored in the egg chamber. If the temperature in theegg chamber rises above the desired limit, due perhaps to too highoutside temperature or to the fact that many eggs may be approaching theeighteenth day and thus giving off an excess of heat, the appropriatethermostat turns on theI valve 26 and at the same time starts up theexhaust fan. If the excess heat is not immediately controlled for someaccidental cause, the third thermostat then comes into play.

At a convenient point, here shown as the back wall, is located the usualvisual wet and dry bulb thermometer unit, indicated at 38, and also ahumidostat in the form of a wet bulb thermometer with electricalcontrols, indicated at 39. This humidostat is connected to the valve 21which controls the spray. Any other well known type of humidityresponsive element may be employed. Normally the spray will be turnedon, but 4should the humidity rise to too high a degree, the humidostatwill close the valve 21 and shut off the sprays until the humidity fallsto the desired point.

It will thus be seen that the desired humidity and temperature withinthe egg chamber are maintained by the addition to the main body of airof freshened air from the chamber 9 at the requisite humidity andtemperature to keep those factors of humidity and temperatureV at thcproper point in the egg chamber.

The body of humidied air at the requisite temperature occupies the space9 above the egg chamber from which it is supplied to all of the mainfans, as will now be described. In the lform of the invention shown,there are located on each side wall, four large fans, indicated at 45,which are placed as closely together as necessary clearances willpermit. Each main fan consists of a number of long flat blades and isdriven by a motor 46 through a reducing worm gear so that in normaloperation they rotate at approximately 90 R. P. M. Each motor is setinan embrasure 41 in the side wall. As the fans are about 40 inches indiameter, they exert a powerful action on the air and effectivelymaintain the whole body of the air in the chamber in violent agitation.Fans of this type when set closely to a wall, as these are, will drawair into the center or eye of the fan and discharge at the periphery ofthe fan. Most of the air which is drawn into the fans comes from themain chamber, but a portion of the air will also be drawn from thechamber 9, so that the conditioned air will be commingled with the mainbody of air in the egg chamber and thus serve to maintain the ai: in theegg chamber at the proper humidity and temperature.

From the chamber 9 extends to each fan a vertical fluel 48 which leadsto the embrasure 41 and discharges the air through a funnel or hous-'ing 50. The shaft of the motor is extended into the mouth of thehousing where it carries a fan of the impeller type, indicated at 52. Asthe impeller fan 52 is mounted directly on the motor shaft, it rotatesat high speed (approximately 1700 R. P. M.) and draws the air from thechamber 9 through the ilue. The housing 50 partially surrounds the fan52, but opens to the rear so that the fresh conditioned air isdischarged into the embrasure from Which it is drawn into the center ofthe main circulating fan 45.

As each of the eight circulating fans 45, which constitute the equipmentfor the incubator shown herein, is connected to a flue 4B and toa fan52,

it will be seen that the body of correctly condi-- tioned air in thechamber 9 is distributed to all of the fans. The distribution of theconditioned air is approximately equal to all of the fans, and theviolent agitation of the whole body of air in the chamber, replenishedat many points from a single body of conditioned air, will give uniformconditions of temperature and humidity throughout the whole chamber.Accurate tests conducted in an incubator of the type shown have shown aremarkable absence of hot or cold spots in the chamber and the humidityhas been found to be uniform throughout.

The tilting egg racks are indicated at 55, ranged in tiers along theside walls of the egg chamber in front of the fans. They may be of anypreferred type and provided with any standard turning mechanism. Asshown, the trays are all tilting, which indicates that incubation onlyis performed. If the incubator is to be used for both incubating andhatching, a portion of the tilting trays should be replaced bystationary hatching trays.

It is desirable, in operating this incubator, to set the eggs in thecustomary staged incubation so that more or less of a balance betweenendothermic and exothermic eggs will be maintained. In the incubatorshown herein, however, care need not be exercised to set the eggs inexact ratios of old and new eggs or to distribute the eggs through thechamber as to ages as the automatic controls in combination with thedistribution of the conditioned air will prevent the formation of hot orcold spots around eggs of the same ages.

It has been found that incubators made in accordancewith this inventiongive universally satisfactory results and the loss of fertile eggsthrough improper conditions in the egg chamber is substantiallyeliminated. This highly beneficial result is obtained because of theuniform distribution of streams of conditioned airat the proper humidityand temperature from a single body of air to the individual fans, bywhich the increments of freshened, properly humidied air at the correcttemperature are added to the main body of air at numerous points andthoroughly admixed therein. It is also due to the accurate and automaticcontrol of humidity and temperature which prevents either too high ortoo low temperatures or excess or deficiency of humidity.

What is claimed is:

1. In an incubator having an egg chamber, fans on the walls Yof the eggchamber, asecondary chamber to house a body of humidiiied air at thedesired temperature, ducts leading from the secondary chamber to theintake areas of the several fans, and impellers'to draw the air from thesecondary chamber through the ducts and deliver it directly to theseveral fans.

2. In an incubator having an egg chamber, fans on the walls of the eggchamber, fan driving means, a secondary chamber to house a body ofhumidified air at the desired temperature, ducts leading from thesecondary chamber to the intake areas of the several fans, and impellersdriven by the fan driving means and located at the discharge end of theducts to draw the air from the secondary chamber through the ducts anddeliver it directly to the several fans.

3. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, a false ceiling over the eggchamber to form a secondary chamber. means to conduct air from the mainchamber to the secondary chamber, means to humidify the air and raise orlower its temperature while it is passing to the secondary chamber, fanslocated on the side walls of the egg chamber, and conduits leading fromthe secondary chamber to the several fans.

4. An incubator comprising an egg chamber. a false ceiling over the eggchamber'to form a secondary chamber, means to conduct air from the mainchamber to the secondary chamber, means controlled by the air conditionsin the egg chamber to humidify the air and raise or lower itstemperature while it is passing to the secondary chamber, fans locatedon the side Walls of the egg chamber, and conduits leading from thesecondary chamber to the several fans.

5. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, a false ceiling over the eggchamber to form a secondary chamber, means to conduit air from the mainchamber tothe secondary chamber, means controlled by the air conditionsin the egg chamber to humidify the air and raise or lower itstemperature while it is passing to the secondary chamber, fans locatedon the side walls of the egg chamber, conduits leading from thesecondary chamber to the several fans, and air.

impellers located in the conduits.

6. Andncubator comprising an egg chamber, fans within the egg chamber tomaintain the whole body of air therein in constant agitation, an airconditioning unit comprising a cooler, means to create a spray locatedinthe unit, means to withdraw a portion of the body of air from the eggchamber and conduct it over the cooler and through the spray, a heaterin the path ofthe air after it passes the spray and has been freed ofdroplets of water, means to control the operation of the sprayVautomatically controlled by the humidity of the air in the egg chamber,means to return the treated air to the main body of air in the eggchamber, and means to 4control the heater and the cooler automaticallycontrolled by the temperature in the egg chamber.

7. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, an air conditioning unitcomprising a cooler, means to create a spray located in the unit, meansto conduct a portion of the air in the egg chamber over the cooler andthrough the spray, a heater in the path of the air after. it passes thespray and has been freed of droplets of water, means to control theoperation of the spray controlled by the humidity of the air in the eggchamber, means to control the heater and the cooler controlled by thetemperature in the egg chamber, fans in the egg chamber, and means toconduct the treated air from the unit to the several fans.

8. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, fans in the egg chamber, anair conditioning unit communicating with the egg chamber, said unitbeing provided with means controlled by the temperature and humidity ofthe air in the egg chamber to humidify the air in the unit and to heator cool it dependent upon the temperature in the chamber, a plurality ofair outlets in the egg chamber, an exhaust fan in one of said outlets,means responsive to the temperature vwithin the egg chamber to operatethe exhaust fan when the temperature in the egg chamber rises above apredetermined point, and means to return the air from theu it to thefans in the egg chamber.

9. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, fans in the egg chamber, anair conditioning unit in communication with the egg chamber, said unitbeing provided with means to heat or cool the air, means to operate theheater or cooler in accordance with the temperature in the egg chamber,an exhaust fan in the egg chamber, said exhaust fan and cooler operatingsimultaneously, means to humidity the air in the unit, and conduits toreturn the air from the unit to the fans in the egg chamber.

, chamber.

`an exhaust Ian in the egg chamber, said exhaust fan and cooleroperating simultaneously, means to humidify the air in the unit, fans inthe egg chamber, and conduits to return the air from the unit to theintake areas of the several fans.

11. An incubator comprising an egg chamber,

a plurality of fans in the egg chamber, a secondary chamber, means toconduct a portion of the air from the egg chamber to the secondarychamber, means to condition the air which is withdrawn from the eggchamber by humidication and cooling or heating controlled by thehumidity and temperature of the main body of air in the egg chamber,separate return conduits leading from the secondary chamber to theintake areas of the several fans, a foul air outlet from the eggchamber, and means to accelerate the outward passage of air through theoutlet actuated by the rise of temperature in the l,egg chamber.

12. An incubator comprising an egg chamber, a plurality of fans in theegg chamber, a secondary chamber, means to conduct a portion of the airfrom the egg chamber to the secondary chamber, means to condition theair which is withdrawn from the egg chamber by humidication and coolingor heating controlled by the humidity and temperature of vthe main bodyof air in the egg chamber, separate return conduits leading from thesecondary chamber to the intake areas of the several fans, a. foul airoutlet from the egg chamber, and means operative concurrently with thecooling means to accelerate the outward passage of lair through theoutlet actuated by the rise of temperature in the egg JOSEPH I. TAGGART.

